Westchester Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,255 Shares of Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT)

Westchester Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in Microsoft Co. (NASDAQ:MSFT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 71,945 shares of the software giant’s stock after selling 1,255 shares during the period. Microsoft comprises about 7.6% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Microsoft were worth $30,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MSFT. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Adamsbrown Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 5,967 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $2,515,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Microsoft by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Mcdaniel Terry & Co. now owns 315,594 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $133,023,000 after buying an additional 18,052 shares during the last quarter. Centric Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 0.7% during the third quarter. Centric Wealth Management now owns 16,156 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $6,789,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Microsoft by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,140 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $4,274,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Microsoft by 2.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,250,128 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $3,980,299,000 after acquiring an additional 217,509 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Microsoft

In other Microsoft news, insider Bradford L. Smith sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $436.05, for a total value of $32,703,750.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 476,999 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,995,413.95. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Amy Coleman sold 13,243 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.01, for a total value of $5,985,968.43. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,481,631. This represents a 23.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 94,243 shares of company stock worth $41,288,738 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Microsoft from $500.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of Microsoft from $502.00 to $512.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $435.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.30.

Microsoft Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSFT opened at $454.27 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $395.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $412.34. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 trillion, a P/E ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.99. Microsoft Co. has a 52 week low of $344.79 and a 52 week high of $468.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.34, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The software giant reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.22 by $0.24. The firm had revenue of $70.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.54 billion. Microsoft had a return on equity of 33.36% and a net margin of 35.43%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Microsoft Co. will post 13.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Microsoft Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. Microsoft’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.66%.

Microsoft Profile

Microsoft Corporation develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions worldwide. The Productivity and Business Processes segment offers office, exchange, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, office 365 Security and Compliance, Microsoft viva, and Microsoft 365 copilot; and office consumer services, such as Microsoft 365 consumer subscriptions, Office licensed on-premises, and other office services.